Box having vertically movable bottom



April 23, 1940. L. N. SOTHRAS BOX HAVING VERTICALLY MOVABLE BOTTOM Filed Jan. 14, 1958 Patented Apr-.23, 1940 .1 2.197.842 v BOX HAVING VERTICALLY-MOVABLE HBOTTOM" v j Seem ;.k;:aa...-m.=: .i Application-January 14, 1 93s, sr a 11,84,946 2174645.", V This 1ses to improvements in boxes, and refersspecifically to a box havinga vertically mOVablebottorh"whereby merchandise 'such'as cigars or the like, carriedin said box,

may be raised myth-atop of thebox as the quantity of merchandise becomes depleted through periodicremovals.

Where goods, such as cigars; candies and the I like, are dispensed from containers, as the con- .tainer becomes empty'the merchandise is'less attractively x-displayeda Thereforwcont'ainershave heretofore beenconstruct'ed wherein the remaining goods'is elevated 'in the container so as t presenta more attractiveappearance.

In boxes'or containers of this'type means/has heretoforefibeen provided whereby the bottom may be elevated in thelbox and be'maintained in said elevated position; However, such means has been so vconstructed that the bottom can only occupy a limited number of fixed positions.

Hence, in carrying goods of different sizes, different sizes'of supporting means must-be used.

Forinstance, if one ofthe prior art devices isutilized tocontain and dispense cigars, such device is, only effective when used with a box of predetermined depth containing cigars of a predetermined diameter or thickness. Obviously, where cigars of different thickness are merchandised or different depth boxes are used, the height of the devices and the dimensions of the elevational stops must be changed.

box'may be moved andmaintained at anydesired elevation, said meanscomprising guides or ways which are substantially symmetrical throughout their length wherebythey may be simply cut to fit the depth of any given box, said guides or ways engaging slidable members carried by the bottomof the box withsuflicient frictional grip to permit the maintenance of said bottom at adesired elevation.

Other objects and advantages'of' my invention willbe apparent fromthe accompanying drawing and following detailed description.

, ;In the drawing, Fig. 'lisa' perspective view of a box provided with invention.

Fig. 2 is a sectional View taken on line 2-2 of Fig, 1. 3

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary sectional view taken on line 33 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 isa detailed perspective view of one of.

the guides comprisingmy invention.

the devices comprising my j Fig. 51s a detailed perspective view of a clip which 'isiadapted to. be slidably associated with the guide;

Referring id detail to the drawing, 1 indicates 7 a box'which may befada pte d tocontain cigars, candy or -other"similar goods. prises the usualsidesZ an'dB, ends 4 and -5 and a cover 6 which is hingedly secured to the top edge The box I com of the side 2. fiAbottom T is positioned withiri th boxa'nd, as will be hereinafter more fuly described, said bottom is movable 'in'al vertical direction; i

As afeature of my inventiond mount guides or ways 8 upon the inner faces of'th'e' ends fiend 5, f one guide being disposed adjacent each corner of the box. Theguides-8 are preferably constructed of metal strip and are formed'in two longitudi nal sections, a flat section 9 and an arcuate sectioni ifi. A foot vI i. is formed atthe bottom of the fiat section 9 and extends at right angles to the plane of said section.

The guides 8 aremounted vertically upon the.

ends 4 and 5 with the arcuate sections extending concaveinwardly with respect to the planes of the ends. The fiat sections are disposed flush with the planes of the ends and preferably ex' tend between the juncture of the sides 2 and 3 and the ends 4 and 5, as shown at I2 in Fig. 3.

By thisarrangement the guides are securely held.

any specific means for mounting the guides since the same iswithin the purview of any one skilled in the art. The arcuate section 10 is preferably so. formed that when the flat section is disposed flush 'withthe plane of the box end, the tree.

edge of the arcuate sections bears, with a slight degree of tension, upon the face of the end.

A clip or slider I5 is provided for engagement with each of the guides 8, said clip being preferably constructed-of metal.

outwardly extending supporting portion l6 pro- Each' clip- 15 has an vided with barbs or teeth H. The opposite end of the clip is formed in a U-shape, as shown at 18 in Fig. 5. The clips l5 are adapted to be mounted upon the movable bottom I, one clipbeving mounted adjacent each corner of said bottom in such positionas to permit each clip to engage a guide '8. Theclips are so disposed upon the bottom I as to permitthe teeth I! to bite into the provided in'each clip whereby a tack 20 may assist in retaining the clip upon the bottom.

I To position the bottom in the box I, the U- tioned in engagement with the arcuate sections of shaped portions of the clips are slidably posithe guides. Obviously, the free edge of the guides normally bearing against the face of the ends 4 and 5 with a slight degree of tension, as has been hereinbefore described, will tend to confine one leg of the U-shaped portion of the clip in contact with the face of the end, and, movement of the clip parallel to the guide will be opposed by the friction thus caused. l

To augment the frictional resistance to'movement of the clips upon the guides, the normal sagitta of the arc of the arcuate section II) is formed slightly greater than the distance between the legs of the U-shaped member. Consequently, there will be a frictional grip of theclip upon the guide at the three points indicated at 2|, 22 and 23 in Fig. 3, due to the tendency of the U-shaped member to flatten the arcuate section l0.

By these provisions, although the bottom may be readily moved along the guides by exerting sufficient manual force to purposely move the same, the weight of the goods carriedupon the bottom will never be sufiicient unaided to move the bottom downwardly. Hence, thebottom can bemoved to, and be" retained in any desired position within thebox and is not dependent upon notches, supports of fixed length or' other restricted adjustments.

When the bottom is in its conventional position it is supported by the feet I I and cannot be accidentally removed from the box. When the bottom is in this position, another advantage of my invention presents itself, namely, the guide-clip arrangement resists movement to a degree in both directions; against an upwardly directed force as Well as the downwardly directed force of the weight of the goods, Consequently, said frictional resistance willtend to prevent the merchandise from being crushed when the cover 6 is closed if the bottom. is accidentallyjarred or bumped, which may stacking the boxes.

I claim as my invention: r

1., In combination with a box havinga veroccur, for instance, when tically movable bottom ofa' plurality of guides.

vertically disposed on the inner alls of the box, a longitudinal portionof eachof said guides being arcuate in cross-section, clips carried by said "bottom, said clips being of U-shape, said. U-shape clips embracing the arcuate portion of the guides whereby mutual pressure 'is exerted between said clips and said guide to support said'bottom at a-desired elevation within saidv box.

2. In combination with a box having a vertically movable bottom of a plurality of guides vertically .disposed on the inner walls of the box,

each of said guides having a free longitudinal edge which exerts resilient pressurefupon the walls of the box, U-shaped clips carried bysaid bottom which, embrace and are slidably B1171" gageable" with the free edges of said guides, a

portion of said clips being, confined between the.

free edges of said guides and'th'e box to friction-a ally support the bottom at a desired elevation.

3. In combination with-a box having a -ver tically movable bottom of-a plurality of guides vertically disposed on; the inner wallsof the'box adjacent the corners of the box, U-shaped clips carried by said bottom which embraceand are slidably engageable with said guides, said clips contacting said guides with' a sufficient degreeof friction to support said bottom at any desired elevation within the box.-1. I LOUIS N, SOTI-IZRAS. 

